Rising petrol and electricity prices; increasing digitalisation and declining public transport supply, among other things, are causing more and more people to have problems getting around. Sustainability and shared mobility do not seem to be for everyone, and measures to encourage them may even exacerbate the problem. This increases the risk of social exclusion.
Since mid 2022, we have been working on the topics of inclusion, mobility poverty and mobility justice with our network partners in various working group sessions. Would you like to know more about our efforts, or the progress of the current working group? Contact me at pelle@amsterdamsmartcity.com.
What is the goal of the project?
Broadly speaking, the goals of this project are; addressing the concept of Mobility Poverty among powerful organizations and policy makers, gaining a better understanding of the subject (geographically and experience wise), and finding ways to include this issue in policy and local initiatives.
What is the result of the project?
For over a year, our network dedicated time and effort to help bring this topic to life. In the following paragraphs, I'll describe the activities and topics discussed throughout this period.
In the spring of 2022, this topic was brought up during one of Amsterdam Smart City’s Demodays. Later that year, the Co-creation and Transition days were used to facilitate and continue discussions around everything related to Mobility Poverty. During those three sessions, Maxim Burlini and Chris de Veer from The Province of North-Holland, and Gijs Diercks and Emil Beemer from DRIFT presented the topic and their initial research results. Furthermore, they used the different parties at the table to gather input for follow-up questions for research, did some brainstorming on different policy instruments, and they got an idea of what’s already happening in terms of related projects in the region. These meetings were also used to form a group of interested parties to take on the challenge in 2023 as a working group.
In 2023, we facilitated a series of reccuring working sessions for our commited partners.
January: Presentations on; a research proposition by the Province of North-Holland and TNO, and a research proposition by DRIFT. Together with the attendees, we discussed an outline for a possible programme and manifest on this topic.
March: Presentations on the concept of 'Mobility Wallets' (Rebel) and digital payment integration/ OV Pay in the Netherlands (Province of North-Holland).
June: Presentation by Matthew Bruno (Vervoerregio Amsterdam) on his Mobility Poverty research, analysing policy documents on its inclusion of this topic. Furthermore, the working group discussed financing options, hiring a new project leader, and the first tasks for this new project team.
August: Presentations by Ideate on their Inclusive Shared Mobility report, made for I&W. This initiated discussions on the different stakeholders (Governments, target groups, public transport & shared mobility providers) and their specific needs. Furthermore, the Province of North-Holland confirmed they will apoint a project leader to push this initiative. The coming months we'll work towards a set of initiatives and tasks for the (re)launch of this project.
October: Presenting our collective overview of current projects in the region related to; inclusivity, justice and poverty in mobility. If you're interested in our overview of research reports, local initiativis, coalitions and policy instruments, created in october 2023, feel free to message me directly.
December: Presentations by CROW on their 'Community of Practice: Inclusive Prosperity (Mobility specific)'. Discussions on the embedding of this Working Group within Platform Mobility and its continuation with the Province. And introducing the upcoming student research group.
Interdisciplinairy Graduation Research
In 2024, from February untill July, we collaborated with the Province of North Holland and the University of Applied Sciences Amsterdam to help install their first ever 'interdisciplinary graduation circle'. A group of four students, from various disciplines, took on the challenge to use the topic of Mobility Justice as the basis for their graduation projects.
Their 5 months research projects covered different topics and perspectives. They performed qualitative research on (and with) elderly in Purmerend, developed an interactive route planning dashboard as a conversation tool, analysed mobility policies and participation approaches by The Province, and researched the willingnes of officials to engage in dialogue with citizens experiencing mobility poverty. If you're curious about specific outcomes and products, feel free to message me directly.
Who initiated the project and which organizations are involved?
The topic of Mobility Poverty was alarmed within the Amsterdam Smart City network by The Province of North-Holland and the Dutch Research Institute For Transitions (DRIFT).
They were concerned about mobility poverty and wondered what we can do to keep everyone in our society mobile. Because of the lack of knowledge on the extent of the problem, the exact target groups and what instruments work (and what, above all, do not), they approached our network to reach a shared understanding and an aligned approach.
A variety of parties have been contributing during the different working sessions. For example: The Municipality of Amsterdam, Vervoerregio Amsterdam, Rebel, The University of Applied Sciences Amsterdam, Overmorgen, Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam, Flevoland and Cenex NL
What is the next step?
After a period of slowing down, enriching, and forming new coalitions on this subject, it's time to take it to the next phase.
The student research project and the transfer of the working group to the Province marked the end of our active role as driver and facilitator of this topic. North-Holland and its working group (led by Anne van der Veen) are currently shaping their program and goals, together with other governments within the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam.
We will keep sharing their learnings, barriers and outcomes with our network. And we will keep promoting this issue on the international stage.
